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 s Giant Creatures Attack movies go, Jack Sholder's
"Arachnid" is pretty decent. But as a regular movie regardless of
genre, it's lacking. Starring Chris Potter as Valentine, an ex-military who
leads a medical expedition to an isolated island to help some locals,
"Arachnid" features a giant spider that has been mutated by alien
experimentation. Although the aliens themselves (actually, alien, as in
singular) only shows up for about 20 seconds of total screentime, our Giant
Creatures Attack movie still breaks rank from its brethren, which prefers toxic
mutation or human genetic experimentation gone bad to create its giant menacing
creatures.
Not nearly as bad as it could have been given the
situation, "Arachnid" features some sympathetic characters that are
less prone to silly character motivations made notorious in other Giant
Creatures Attack movies like, say, "Python
2", or any film by the UFO Film Company (e.g. "Epoch").
Alex Reid, who could past for a younger sister of Jennifer Garner ("Daredevil"),
plays Mercer, a commercial pilot hired by Valentine's group to take them to the
island. Mercer soon learns that she has a connection to the island and it has
something to do with a crashed alien ship and a missing pilot.
Directed by Jack Sholder, who gained cult status with
"The Hidden", "Arachnid" suffers most from its obvious low
budget. The island, though it looks like an actual location, looks nowhere as
dangerous as it's supposed to; I've seen more dangerous looking foliage in my
local city park. Also, the movie's main draw, its giant spider, is all practical
special effects and the result is not kind. Most low-budget filmmakers realize
they have no budget for a really good creature, so decide to go with
"new" technology (i.e. CGI creatures) rather than rely on the old,
since the end result is pretty much the same. I guess it's better to be cutting
edge and lame instead of just old fashion and lame.
Despite its drawbacks, there's a lot to like about
"Arachnid". Chris Potter makes a good square-jaw hero, although for
some reason his ex-Marine seems to lack the understanding that once you load a
weapon's chamber you don't have to keep doing it. Alex Reid makes a good
heroine, with the right combination of resourcefulness, smarts, and
vulnerability. Of course it doesn't hurt that she looks good in a tank top and
has obvious skills. Her personal scenes with Potter's Valentine, usually the
kiss of death for many low-budget movies employing lesser skilled actors, make
up some of "Arachnid's" most entertaining moments.
Unfortunately the general direction by Sholder is quite
ordinary. There's no standout sequence and much of the film feels uninspired.
The giant spider doesn't make a full appearance until after the halfway mark,
after which the movie turns into a Teen Slasher film, with the spider killing
off members of the expedition one by one until the inevitable final
confrontation. Most of the movie's action sequence reeks of poor editing and
lazy camerawork, and once again I have to wonder what happened to the man who
directed the exhilarating "The Hidden"?
For a Giant Creatures Attack movie, "Arachnid"
benefits most from a good cast and a screenplay by Mark Sevi that doesn't boggle
the mind with too many logic-deprived moments (although it still has its share).
Potter and Reid do good work, as well as Jose Sancho as the resident scientist,
a man who seems incapable of being nice, although the movie does well by not
treating him as an outright villain as many Creatures Attack movies are wont to
do. The rest of the cast, with the exception of Rocqueford Allen as Bear, one of
Potter's men, flashes by in a blur of victims-to-be.
Not as bad as it could have been, but not as good as it
might have been, "Arachnid" is a good distraction. It makes do with
what it has, and one can imagine that with a bigger budget it could have blown
away "Eight Legged
Freaks" by a long shot.
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